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East Anglia ONE fully operational

By: Tom Russell 28/07/2020 ScottishPower Renewables

General Windfarms

ScottishPower Renewables and Green Investment Group (GIG) have officially completed the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm. All 102 Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbines – situated 43km off the Suffolk coast – are now fully operational, with the capacity to produce 714 MW of clean energy.

East Anglia ONE will play a part in contributing to the UK’s target of meeting Net Zero by 2050. Each year, the park will produce enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of more than 630,000 homes.

Around 20 per cent of the turbine installation and around half the turbine connection work was completed during Coronavirus lockdown, with ScottishPower Renewables and its project partners transforming how they worked to get the job done. This included switching to a higher number of smaller vessels, creating crew "households", which lived and worked together at all times, introducing new welfare protocols and minimising crew changes. This approach allowed the project to be completed on time.

Almost 3,500 jobs were sustained during the construction phase, which began in 2017, while 100 long-term skilled jobs have been created at the operations and maintenance base in Lowestoft.

ScottishPower Renewables co-invested £5 million in Peel Ports Great Yarmouth to prepare it for construction and marshalling activity. Over the course of the project, more than half of the project’s supply chain has come from the UK market, exceeding the commitments made as part of its successful bid for Contract for Difference funding.

The company has also placed East Anglia at the centre of its skills strategy, engaging with more than 3,000 pupils across the educational spectrum – including sponsorship of ten engineering masters at the University of East Anglia – and the development of ScottishPower Renewables’ first apprenticeship programme.

The two new apprentices will be based at ScottishPower Renewables' new operations and maintenance building at Hamilton Dock, Lowestoft; a key part of a £25 million investment made by ScottishPower Renewables into the port. The apprentice recruitment drive comes on the back of the offshore wind industry target announced in March to employ 3,000 new apprentices across the industry by 2030.

Charlie Jordan, East Anglia ONE Project Director at ScottishPower Renewables, said: “The final commissioning of East Anglia ONE is an incredible milestone for us and our project partners, as well as our wider stakeholders, the East Anglian region and the whole of the UK. And it comes at a crucial time as the UK takes it first steps towards a green economic recovery.

“Reaching this point was always going to be an extremely important moment for us – heralding the start of full production of green energy from a major site that will play a real part in the UK’s path to Net Zero. What has made it even more incredible is the determination and tenacity of our team, who have worked tirelessly to deliver this significant technical project amidst an unprecedented pandemic, which none of us could have planned for. This was also the first time we have worked with Green Investment Group, and I would like to thank them for their support.

“I am extremely proud of everyone involved who has helped to deliver the project, doing so in a safe manner. I am delighted East Anglia ONE will play a leading roll in the region’s green energy production, and will also become a hub of industry, investment and skills as we continue to build the green energy sector that’s so important for our future.”

Edward Northam, Head of GIG Europe, said: “Successfully commissioning one of the world’s largest offshore windfarms on time, despite all of the challenges posed by Covid-19, is a testament to the incredible efforts of the whole East Anglia ONE team – and the many UK businesses that have supported the project. Many congratulations to all involved.

“East Anglia ONE is a reminder that the UK continues to lead the world in the successful delivery of offshore wind projects, and I’m proud of the role that Green Investment Group has played, and continues to play, in supporting and funding the development of this market. We remain committed to accelerating the UK’s energy transition and believe offshore wind will be at the heart of the UK’s net zero energy system.”

East Anglia ONE, a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), is a £2.5 billion project and the first of four offshore wind farms ScottishPower Renewables is developing in the region.

East Anglia One North, Two and Three have been merged into one single delivery programme with a combined capacity of around 3,100 MW, which will be known as The East Anglia Hub. The company aims to begin construction in 2022, and envisages a four year construction period to complete the entire East Anglia Hub. The initial 1,400 MW (East Anglia Three) already has planning consent. Planning applications for the further 1,700 MW (split between East Anglia One North, and East Anglia Two) have been submitted.

For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide, click here.

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East Anglia ONE fully operational

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